


His favourite hobby

by ItsKarla



Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [1]
Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Cute boys, Falling In Love, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, SO MUCH FLUFF, Teen AU, Teen fic, pining Aaron
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-10-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:21:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26956480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsKarla/pseuds/ItsKarla
Summary: “Imagine being that much in love,“ Robert whispers next to him, “loving someone so much that nothing in the world means anything anymore when they can‘t be together.“Aaron wonders if he ever will find something like that. It doesn‘t have to be a Romeo-and-Juliet-like epic love-or-death-thing. Aaron knows that’s fiction. He just wants something real. Real love. Like waking up together and doing all that cheesy couple stuff.———Or:My attempt on prompt 1 for the AaronDingleWeek2020:"It‘s a hobby of my mine to prove you wrong."
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967143
Comments: 28
Kudos: 135





	His favourite hobby

**Author's Note:**

> Whooo, here is the AaronDingleWeek!  
> I tried to do something different every day, I hope you guys like it.
> 
> So here goes the 2425th Robron teen fic, but it‘s my first and I loved writing it 😂

Aaron is putting his pencil case into his backpack, after he sorted all pencils so that the nibs are facing the same direction. He is already the last one in the classroom. The last hour ended about ten minutes ago and everybody else couldn’t wait to get out of the building as fast as possible and rush into the weekend.

“Mr Dingle,” his English teacher, Mr King, sighs exasperated and pinches the bridge of his nose, “are you finished anytime soon? My wife and kids are waiting!“

Aaron isn’t in a hurry. “What, Mrs Thumb and her four daughters?“ He mutters sarcastically before he can stop himself. 

Aaron shoulders his backpack, fiddling with the strap, because it got randomly twisted.

“What was that?“ King asks sharply, squinting his eyes.

“Nothing,“ Aaron says quickly. 

“You know, I could have you suspended for 2 weeks for that…“ his teacher growls. 

“No, wait!“ his guts feel hot and heavy, “I‘m sorry, Mr King.“

He can‘t face a school suspension - again, not for such a stupid joke in this stupid situation. King gives him a long look and Aaron feels his cool facade slowly crumbling under the intense stare. He lowers his eyes and has to force himself not to snap out a ‘what’ towards his teacher. 

“Alright. No suspension,“ Jimmy King finally decides and Aaron sighs quietly. “But…“ Aaron tenses up again, “...since you‘re trying to be a big man, I suggest you write an essay about masculinity. How about... you evaluate this subject in Hemingway‘s works?“

Aaron‘s jaw falls open. What? Was this a joke or what? 

“And just so we‘re clear, Aaron. It’s either that or suspension.“

That‘s blackmail! He balls his hands to fists, feeling helpless. 

“I‘ll give you more details about your task on Monday. But now, I wanna go home.“ King raises his chin and basically shoves him out of the room.

He locks up the door and gives Aaron one last glare. “Stay out of trouble, Aaron. You had enough of it already.“

It sounds so patronizing, Aaron absolutely hates it. Hates being looked down on. Yes, he had some trouble already. Yes, he spent some time in the principal's office already. Yes, he had already been suspended for 2 weeks a few months ago. 

Everybody has a role to fill in school. There are the jocks, the nerds, the popular ones, the bullies, the preys. Aaron knows that his teachers - and many other students too for that matter - think that he is a bully, because he got into fights before. For them he is just a troublemaker, one that needs to be closely looked at. 

And Aaron hates it. But he knows if this goes to the principal it’s his word against Jimmy King’s and it takes no genius to figure out who’s going to lose. So he needs to suck it up. 

He walks off, tries to calm himself with deep breaths. As soon as his face is hit with the warm sunlight, he rips off that hideous school uniform sweater, shoves it into his backpack, pulls his cap out and straightens out the wrinkles of his Arctic Monkeys shirt with his hands. That’s better now. One deep breath again. 

He throws his bag back on and walks across the school square. It’s not like he has a real destination - other than NOT home. Definitely not home. Maybe he’ll go to that little bridge-

His thoughts are interrupted by a scream and a nasty laughter. Aaron stops and looks around.

“Give it back to me!” he hears someone shouting.

Another malicious cackle. The voices come from behind the gym. Aaron sighs. If his recent run-ins with the principal told him anything, it’s that he should walk away now, just leave and not look back. But fuck. That’s _wrong_ , isn’t it?

Aaron swallows and walks towards the gym. The nearer he gets, the louder are the noises.

“Give it to me!”

“Make me, loser!”

“Ross, please…”

Aaron rolls his eyes, of course it’s Ross, the idiot. He hears muffled sounds now, fabric rustling, grunts and breaths.

When he goes around the corner, he sees Ross in a fight with someone, there is blond hair and long, uncoordinated limbs. Whoever was brave enough to take it on with Ross Barton is not very experienced in fighting. 

“Oi, Ross!” he snarls.

The moment of surprise is on his side, because just when Ross swirls around, he let’s go of the other boy and Aaron knows this is his chance. He steps forward and pushes as hard as he can against Ross’ chest. Barton stumbles backwards and the lad who got bullied is freed. 

“Bugger off, Barton!”

Ross stares at him, panting harshly, clearly pissed off about being interrupted. “That’s none of your business, Livesy! Stay the fuck out of it.”

Aaron keeps silent and just stares back at him. He knows that Ross is as fucked as he is. The principal hates his guts and is just waiting for a chance to punish him again. Maybe even kick him out of the school for good. 

In the corner of his eyes, Aaron sees something lying on the floor and the other boy kneels down and grabs it. Ross curses quietly.

“Fine!” he spits out. “This time, Livesy. This time.” Ross points with the finger in his face. 

Aaron is not backing down, he is not scared of this pathetic threat, so he straightens his back and raises his chin. He feels a small smile creeping on his face. 

Once he‘s sure that Barton definitely moved off, he lets out a breath and turns around to the other guy. He stops dead in his tracks, because there are green eyes looking at him. And those green eyes are framed by long blond lashes and under those lashes are cheekbones that are covered in freckles. And in between those cheekbones there is a nose and the only word Aaron has for it, is _cute_ . The nose is cute. And the lips underneath are _lush_. 

Aaron’s mouth goes dry. He shouldn’t think like that, he knows that. And while his brain is vehemently screaming this message to his body, his belly does a little somersault. 

“Thanks, Aaron,” the boy says and smiles.

Oh God, Aaron’s knees go weak, but then he frowns. The other guy knows his name and Aaron... comes up totally blank. He is pretty sure, he has seen the lad before, once or twice, but only from across the schoolyard. If he isn’t completely mistaken, the boy is a year above him, but they have never spoken before.

“No problem…”

“Robert,” Robert offers, still smiling. 

“No problem, Robert.” 

The green eyes are looking at him, as if they could see straight into his soul, as if they would _know_... and it all gets a little too intense, so Aaron lowers his eyes and his gaze lands on the item in Robert’s hands. The item they were fighting about. It’s a book. 

“Hey, what’s that?” he asks.

Robert ducks his head and shifts his stand. “It’s err, … a book.”

“No shit,” Aaron deadpans which earns him a soft chuckle and that chuckle is _adorable_. He swallows. “Which book?”

He needs a distraction from his thoughts, quickly please.

“Hemingway. The old man and the sea,” Robert says quietly and blushes furiously at that, as if he is embarrassed. 

He strokes softly over the cover of the book and Aaron tries not to focus on these long, nimble fingers, but on the state of the book instead. It looks old and worn out. 

“Hemingway…” he mutters and his eyes go big. “You like Hemingway?”

“Errm, yeah?” Robert says it as if it’s a question. “He was my mum’s favourite author.”

Yes! Oh my god, that has to be fate or something. Robert was his saviour! His solution! He is so going to kick Jimmy King’s wrinkly arse! Aaron grabs Robert’s shoulders.

“Robert, my mate! I need your help,” he grins broadly. 

Robert blinks at him, through his long, long blond lashes. “Yeah?”

He ignores the thrumming buzz in his body, throws his arm around Robert’s shoulders and walks with him towards the street, explaining about King’s essay.

They head to an ice cream parlour, where Robert agrees to help him with Hemingway. Robert chooses Peppermint-Chocolate chip, Aaron goes for Vanilla.

“Hey,” Aaron asks about an hour later, when they are sitting on the wall of the small bridge, letting their legs dangle in the air. “How did you know my name?”

Robert just smiles at him and throws a stone into the small river. 

A new friendship is born.

\-- -- --

He gets a B on his essay. Aaron knows it’s an A actually, because Robert wrote it mostly and Robert is a bloody brilliant writer, but he only got a B, because the name on the top right said “Aaron Livesy”. King would never give him an A.

Whoever thought their paths would divide again after that is proven wrong, because Aaron and Robert are inseparable. 

It‘s an unlikely pairing, Aaron is aware, he is the mouthy troublemaker, the impulsive rebel, whereas Robert is the silent one, the nerdy bookworm. 

Aaron knows that’s what his schoolmates and the teachers think, but well, they can fuck off. They couldn‘t be more wrong. 

Robert _is_ a bookworm, but he is anything but silent. He is funny and so damn clever. And he is passionate about the things he loves, like Star Wars, about which he can talk for _hours_ \- and occasionally actually does. Aaron doesn‘t mind the rambling, quite the opposite in fact. Robert can carry an entire conversation while Aaron just leans back and listens. 

No one ever bullies Robert anymore, Aaron makes sure of it.

Robert is his best friend and probably the only person who truly cares about him. 

“Why is King having a downer on you anyway?” Robert asks him one time, “he must see how hard you‘re working for your grades.“

“I got into a fight once,“ Aaron admits reluctantly, gauging for Robert‘s reaction. “King stepped in and ever since he thinks I‘m the worst thug in school or something.“

They are sitting in the little city park and Aaron starts ripping out grass and fiddles with it in his fingers. He recently quit smoking - which had nothing to do with the fact that Robert doesn‘t smoke and hates the stench - and he needs to occupy his hands _somehow._

“What was that fight about?“

Aaron looks up, surprised. Neither King nor the principal asked him that before. It didn‘t matter when all the pieces fit so nicely.

“It was between me and Adam.“

“Adam? Barton?“ Robert raises his eyebrows. “Thought he is everybody‘s sunshine!“

Aaron scoffs. “He is.“ He closes his eyes. “We were mates…“ His voice trails off.

“What happened?“ Robert asks softly.

“Nothing. Got into a stupid fight and haven‘t talked since,“ Aaron cuts it short.

He doesn‘t wanna talk about it, because he simply has no words for it. 

Kissing his mate was the worst idea Aaron ever had, but he honestly thought his feelings were reciprocated. Apparently not, because Adam threatened to tell the whole school that Aaron was ‘a faggot‘. 

He can still _taste_ the panic that shot through his body like lightning. 

Aaron squeezes his eyes together. 

He lost it and hit his best friend, the boy he had his first crush on. Because the boy he had his first crush on was a wanker, a homophobic wanker. Never again, Aaron swore himself.

He opens his eyes and looks into Robert‘s. The green ocean is almost drowning him.

It can‘t happen again, his mind whispers to him, so Aaron swallows and rips out more grass.

They don‘t talk about it again.

— — — 

Another thing they don‘t talk about, are their dads. 

All Aaron knows about Robert‘s family is that his mum died tragically in a fire one year ago and Rob spent months off afterwards. Hence why Aaron hasn‘t seen him often on the schoolyard after he got transferred to this school. 

There is this one time when Aaron wants to pick him up to hang out somewhere. It’s a Saturday and that means he can spend the whole day with his favourite person, so Aaron is in an exceptionally good mood, when he enters the front yard of the Sugdens. 

Inside the house he hears shouting and noises and the lighthearted mood quickly dies. His finger is shaking when he rings. Seconds later, Robert stumbles out, looking pale and tired. There is a small cut on his bottom lip. 

Aaron seethes with anger, wants to head in and tell the old man what a lousy, pathetic excuse of a sperm donor he is. But Robert drags him away, without looking back, without saying a thing.

Aaron takes him to the arcade, they eat ice cream and then they play games until the tension in Robert‘s shoulders fades and the typical smile is back on his face. 

Aaron would love to do more to comfort him, but that will have to do.

Robert does the same for him. Whenever Aaron has a bad day, they go to the arcade. It becomes their little escape from reality.

They never talk about their dads. For now, words aren‘t needed.

— — — 

Robert repeats the school year because he missed too much stuff after his mum died and that‘s how he ends up in Aaron‘s class.

They are jumping up and down in the school hallway, hugging themselves like idiots. Aaron feels the looks of other kids, but in that moment, he couldn‘t care less. 

“Wow, Azza, how cool is that?“ Robert beams at him with sparkling eyes.

“Amazing, now I can just copy all your homework,“ Aaron jokes. 

It really is amazing, sharing a class with his best friend! Spending all day with him, being able to do homework together, railing against their teachers together - although Robert‘s experiences with them are slightly different than Aaron‘s. They love Robert, of course they do. Robert is smart and school is so effortless for him. 

It‘s amazing, being in the same class, honestly. But Aaron is dying a little bit more inside every day. 

He is so close to Robert and still so far away. 

He wishes he could reach out and _touch._ Trace all those freckles with his fingers. 

He wishes he could _kiss_ those lips and he imagines how they would feel against his own.

Right now Aaron sits there, caught up in his daydreams, staring at his best friend who‘s talking about their homework - an essay about ‘Romeo and Juliet’.

“The story sucks so much. Why do we always have to chew over that old shit,“ Aaron mourns and flops face down on his bed. 

He presses his head into his pillow with the faint hope it would stop the inappropriate thoughts about his _friend._

“It‘s a cool story actually!“ says Robert, because he‘s Robert. 

Aaron snorts at that and rolls his eyes. “Of course it is.“

There is a silence and Aaron eventually turns around to look at his best friend. Robert is standing there, his head cocked and Aaron knows he‘s thinking. 

“When‘s your dad coming?“ he asks suddenly.

“Not before 10. He‘s on a late shift today. Why?“ Aaron frowns.

Robert just smiles at him and Aaron ignores the butterflies in his belly. “Gimme an hour, I‘ll be back, yeah?“

And with that mysterious sentence he is gone, leaving a gobsmacked Aaron behind.

When he‘s back later (almost an hour on the dot), he‘s holding up a DVD. 

“It’s err.. Romeo and Juliet, have you seen it?“ Robert asks and blushes a little. 

God, Aaron hates how much he loves when he does that.

“What? No!“ Aaron huffs out. As if he would watch something like that. “Isn‘t that… girls stuff or something?“ He feels his own cheeks heating up and grabs the DVD, so he can hide his face by looking down on the cover.

“Leonardo DiCaprio?“ he asks surprised. Maybe this movie isn‘t so bad after all.

He puts the DVD in and starts his TV, then they sit on his bed, both leaning against the headboard. Aaron is hyper aware of how close Robert is, their arms are almost touching and he swears he can feel the body heat of his best friend. He pulls his legs up and rests his arms on his knees totally cool and casual, not at all just to hide an embarrassing boner. 

The film is not bad indeed, Aaron has to admit reluctantly. They speak the original text like Shakespeare wrote it, but the setting is modern, there is action and cars and shootings.

And Romeo and Juliet. 

“She looks so hot,“ Robert comments quietly when Claire Danes is half hidden behind a fish tank. 

Aaron just hums at that. He only has eyes for Leo, who looked so young and fucking _stunning_ back then. 

Robert‘s words settle in his stomach like a heavy stone. Of course his best friend is straight. Aaron is not surprised, but well. It hurts. Assuming and knowing are two different things. 

When the movie climaxes in the dramatic scenes in the church, with all those candles and desperation and heartbreak, Aaron is suddenly close to tears as well. He scolds himself of how stupid this is, it‘s just a bloody movie, for fucks sake. He blinks a few times, but his chest remains tight and the lump in his throat won‘t disappear no matter how often he‘s swallowing.

“Imagine being that much in love,“ Robert whispers next to him, “loving someone so much that nothing in the world means anything anymore when they can‘t be together.“

Aaron wonders if he ever will find something like that. It doesn‘t have to be a Romeo-and-Juliet-like epic love-or-death-thing. Aaron knows that’s fiction. He just wants something real. _Real_ love. Like waking up together and doing all that cheesy couple stuff.

When the credits are rolling, Aaron clears his throat awkwardly. “Okay, the story isn‘t _that_ bad.“ 

Robert grins a blinding smile at him. “It‘s a hobby of mine to prove you wrong.“

— — —

Aaron has just killed another monster, but he is far away from enjoying his victory. There is no one with him to celebrate, he‘s at the arcade, alone.

Again.

Being alone in the arcade is depressing as hell, the blinking lights of the games and the laughing groups of kids and teens only increase the feeling of being alone. But despite knowing better, Aaron keeps coming here, he can‘t help it.

Her name is Katie, she is Robert‘s girlfriend for three weeks now and Aaron hates her with a passion. Hates her long hair, her long legs, her flawless skin. She and Robert look perfect together, both blond and tall and total prom king and queen material. 

Robert is so happy with her, he smiles a lot. And that‘s good, that‘s all Aaron wants for him. 

He grits his teeth and readies himself to kill another army of monsters. 

— — —

“She‘s sleeping with my brother,“ Robert manages out, before he breaks down next to Aaron.

They are on the edge of a half pipe on the playground. His best friend’s face should never ever look this sad, there are tears in his eyes and his chin wobbles and that’s more than Aaron can take. His blood boils with anger.

“I‘ll fucking kill her. And him. I‘ll kill them both!“ 

Robert snorts through tears and then he says with a flat voice: “No. It‘s fine, Aaron. Maybe it‘s for the best.“

Aaron just stays silent and puts his arm around Robert‘s shoulders. 

God, he missed his friend so much during that past eight weeks. Yeah, maybe it is for the best - for him anyway, because now that Robert‘s single again, he will surely spend more time with him again. Aaron knows it’s selfish and he feels guilty for thinking like that.

But well, when he can‘t have Robert like Katie did, he will always be his friend at least. Girls will probably come and go, but Aaron will always be there, he thinks.

At least that's what he hopes. 

— — —

They reach the point where they have to make a serious decision about the future. 

“You have to take your A-levels, Robble,“ Aaron says for like the 20th time. “Everything else is ridiculous!“

“But you won‘t be with me, Azza! With whom am I going to bitch about the teachers then?“ Robert pouts.

He is such an idiot sometimes. Cute, but an idiot.

“It‘ll be fine, you can still tell me all your boring school stuff,“ Aaron jokes and tickles Robert.

He uses almost any excuse to get close to his best mate lately and the moment seemed perfect. Robert squirms and laughs. 

They are sobering up slowly and go silent then.

The truth is, Aaron is dreading everything that is about to come. His father made it pretty clear that he expected him to start working after the GCSE‘s. (“You? A-levels? With your grades? We’ll get you a nice job, so you can earn your own money, because I‘m not going to pay for you much longer.“) 

To be honest, being independent doesn‘t sound too bad, maybe Aaron could save a bit up, maybe he could finally move out. 

Moving out. Being free. He closes his eyes and trembles slightly. He has to make this real. 

Robert though… he is too good in school to quit now for a lousy paid job. He is destined for greatness. 

Aaron just knows it. 

“Robert,“ he says with all seriousness, “you‘ll do great. And when you‘re finished, it‘ll be your ticket out of here.“

His heart tugs painfully at that thought, of Robert leaving him behind. He knows it‘s inevitable, but he doesn‘t wanna deal with it now. He is not ready for that.

Robert just pulls him into a hug, a real one, not just some shoulder-bump-two-seconds-bro-hug. It‘s the first time ever Aaron is being held like that. He feels Robert‘s warmth against his chest and the hot skin of the neck is pressed right against his face. 

His mouth is actually touching Robert‘s skin. And Aaron wishes, _wishes so bad,_ he could just purse his lips and press a gentle kiss there, right above the collarbone. Just once. All his wishful thinking, his daydreams - he wants it to be real, just once.

“Thanks, Azza,“ Robert whispers against his hair and Aaron shivers all over. 

He takes a deep breath in and _sniffs._ Robert smells so incredibly good, like netflix marathons, breakfasts in bed and shared showers. 

For a split second, a heartbeat, it‘s all true. 

It’s overwhelming. Aaron‘s guts are turning and twisting so hard it‘s almost painful. 

Eventually, Robert gives him a friendly pat on the shoulder and lets him go. 

He puts on a Star Trek movie and Aaron is glad that he doesn‘t need to talk right now. His throat is so tight, he‘s pretty sure he wouldn‘t get a word out. Now that Robert‘s heat is gone, his skin starts feeling cold. 

— — — 

**Robble**

Hey fun fact: learning and speaking a second language makes your brain grow!

¿Sabias que?

**to Robble**

What now

**Robble**

Always knew you‘re a small brainer. 😝🤣

**to Robble**

Fuck off

— — —

**Robble**

This one class is actually fun, today we discussed Marvel vs DC! 🤣

**to Robble**

Wait, did you discuss what is better or the crossover

**Robble**

Nice one, Azza! 🙌🏻 the crossover. 

**to Robble**

👍🏻 cos everybody knows DC is better.

**Robble**

**😳**

You serious?

**to Robble**

They have Batman

**Robble**

Are you kidding? 

Marvel revolutionized the portrayals of comic heroes in movies.

And not only on the big screen, it goes for television writing in general too. Marvel was a pioneer of creating connected stories that impact each other. 

Besides, Batman is way too dark, seriously he is no fun. And regarding his tech, Iron Man wins a dozen times against him. 

Think about it: Batman is nothing without Lucius Fox, whereas Tony Stark is an engineering genius.

Also the movies are so much better! And that‘s not just my personal opinion, Azza, the box office sales speak volumes. 

**to Robble**

🙄 omg ok keep your hair on 

I just like Christian Bale

Fine you win 

**Robble**

Glad you see sense. You know, it‘s a hobby of mine to prove you wrong. 😝  
  


🤣🤣🤣🤣

**to Robble**

🙄

— — —

**Robble**

How‘s work?

**to Robble**

Bozo-boss accused me of installing the oil filter wrong and when he checked it everything was correct. Wanker.

**Robble**

How shitty. You should really look for another garage!

**to Robble**

It‘s fine mate

Friday night still up?

**Robble**

Oh! Damn! I can‘t this Friday 😳 I have a thing with the learning group. They want to go to the movies.

But I can totally cancel that! Good thing you reminded me! 😊

**to Robble**

No need to cancel it‘s fine

Do your thing with the other nerds 😝

**Robble**

But I‘d rather hang out with you.

**to Robble**

We’ll meet another time then

Have fun Robble

— — —

He misses him so terribly, sometimes it‘s hard to motivate himself to even get out of bed in the morning. 

They still meet each other, but with Aaron‘s work hours until the evening and Jack Sugden‘s rigorous curfew there is never enough time. 

There are the weekends of course, but Robert has to help on the farm and has a social life apart from Aaron. 

And Aaron… just curls up on his bed and stares at his telly. In the beginning he kept asking Robert if he wanted to hang out, but after their plans got called off a few times, he forced himself to step back a little. He doesn‘t wanna come across like some clingy girlfriend or something.

Robert is living another life now, he’s trying to make the best out of it, to move on.

And that‘s good.

Aaron keeps repeating that like a mantra. He keeps repeating it until his head believes it, but his heart, his stupid heart, still won‘t get the memo. 

— — —

“Are you sure you want me to do it?” Aaron asks and he tries to keep his voice steady.

Robert gives him one of those long looks with his sapphire eyes that always causes Aaron‘s cheeks to flush with heat.

They are in the park, on the playground, sitting on top of the monkey bars. Robert called earlier, saying it was urgent, so Aaron told his arsehole boss that he‘s got a terrible headache and left.

His best friend wordlessly handed him an envelope and Aaron doesn‘t need A-levels to know that this is about university. 

“Okay,“ he mutters and rips it open.

He can only hope that Robert doesn‘t notice his trembling fingers. He pulls the letter out and his eyes skim through the text. 

“You got in,“ he says and his heart stops for a second. 

Of course Robert got in, he is brilliant. Aaron smiles at his best friend, tries to make it look genuine. 

“I got in,“ Robert whispers and his eyes widen in shock. Then he pulls the letter out of Aaron‘s clammy hands. 

“Yeah.“ Aaron is not sure but he thinks he hears his heart cracking. 

Robert's face falls. “I could stay here, you know. And go to the local uni,“ he says quietly and fiddles with the paper in his hands. 

And as much as Aaron wants this, keeping Robert close - he wants this more than _anything_ \- he knows it‘s wrong. His friend deserves better than this shithole. 

“Don‘t be an idiot, Robble,“ Aaron swallows painfully, “this is London calling. Freaking _London_ , mate! This is your ticket out of here, like we always planned it. Now is not the time to be nervous or shy.“

Robert looks at him again, his eyes flicking over Aaron‘s face. He looks so lost and scared.

“Honestly, I know it‘s a lot and London is fucking _huge,_ alright? But you‘ll be fine there. You‘re gonna smash your courses and then you‘ll have a degree from a top uni. All the doors are open for you, Rob.“

This time he‘s pulling Robert in for a hug and as soon as the body is pressed against his own, Aaron can finally breathe again. He presses his face into Robert‘s warm neck and fills his lungs. Robert still smells amazing, like _home_ and _love_ and _safety._ Aaron‘s hands rest on his back and he‘d give anything to stroke up and down over the fabric. 

Instead he just stays like this, holding his friend, until his left leg goes numb.

“Thanks, Aaron,“ Robert says then, but he still looks sad. 

It doesn‘t sit right with Aaron, Robert absolutely should celebrate his incredible achievement. It‘s so typical though, Robert always underestimates himself, it‘s ridiculous really.

Aaron knows the low self-esteem is down to Robert‘s dad and those bullies in his earlier school years. 

Aaron grits his teeth, determined to organise the world‘s best farewell party. A memorable night to show Robert what an amazing guy he is. 

Right now a trip to the arcade had to do. 

— — — 

Aaron tries to be as cool as he can, but it‘s hard because he feels the looks burning on his skin. He feels so out of place, he‘s alien in his own home. 

There are currently 20 people in his kitchen and living room, all of them probably future academics and he‘s the chavvy mechanic. Damn, he even has little stains of oil under his fingernails. 

He only knows a handful of people or so, because he has literally nothing in common with them, except being friends with Robert. 

“So, when‘s he coming?“ a girl asks him with a bored tone and sips her vodka.

“8-ish,“ Aaron says.

He instructed the guests to hide as soon as the bell rings. And when Robert will enter the living room, everybody is supposed to shout a big ‘surprise’. Classic. Easy. It happens like that in every second movie. 

Of course this is reality and it all comes different. 

“What‘s going on here?“

Robert‘s surprised voice reaches his ears and Aaron swirls around. 

His best friend is standing in the middle of the party, looking around shocked, mouth open. 

“Oi, look who‘s finally here! Suggers!“ someone shouts.

Aaron rushes towards him. “What are you doing here?“ he hisses.

“Err… you told me to come, idiot?“ Robert frowns _and_ somehow raises his eyebrows at the same time.

“No, I mean- … how did you get in here?“ Aaron groans. 

He planned it all so well and now the surprise was ruined!

“The front door was open and so…“ Robert trails off and looks around. “These are people from my school,“ he states slowly. 

“Suggeeeeeers!“ A lad with dark curls shouts and jumps on Robert‘s back. 

Aaron desperately wants to ignore the fact that these people have their own nickname for Robert. His Robble. 

“Hey Mike,“ Robert laughs, “give us a minute, okay?“

“Fiiiiiine!“ Mike grins, pats his back and walks into the kitchen.

Robert looks at him, the smile slowly dying, then he grabs Aaron‘s hand and drags him into his bedroom. He closes the door, shutting the noise out. 

“What‘s all that?“

Aaron sheepishly lowers his head. “I‘m sorry, this was supposed to be a surprise.“

“For me?“ Robert asks like he can‘t believe it.

“Yeah, I wanted you to have an epic farewell party before you head to uni. But it‘s ruined now.“

Aaron flops down on the bed. He really is the worst best friend ever. Robert sighs and sits next to him. 

“Where is your dad?“ his friend frowns and Aaron‘s heart sinks.

Because that means, he hates the party. Why would Robert change the subject otherwise? 

Maybe Aaron should have asked him first, just forget the surprise idea and go for the safer option.

“Business trip, until tomorrow.“

The circumstances were perfect for this, people agreed to come so quickly, everything went to plan. 

Until now.

“How did you invite all the people anyway?“

“Facebook,“ Aaron admits reluctantly and Robert snorts.

“Aaron Livesy, did you create a facebook account to stalk my friends?“ he teases him.

“Shut up,“ Aaron says grumpily, but can‘t hold back a grin.

He shoves Robert and gets tickled in return. They are both laughing and the tension fades. 

“I‘m sorry, the surprise got ruined. I really wanted it to be perfect. Memorable, you know? When you‘re in London you-”

“I‘m not going,“ Robert blurts out. 

Aaron's mouth falls open. “What?“ is all he gets out. He is shocked, but there is this (not so small) part in him that is cheering and popping the champagne bottle. 

Robert is not moving to London! “Why?“

“Why do you want me to go so desperately?“ Robert wants to know, sounding sad suddenly. “Do you want to get rid of me or what?“

Aaron is taken aback, how on earth could Robert think something like that when he is the only thing that makes sense in Aaron‘s life?

He opens his mouth to say something back, but his best friend is quicker than him.

“Because _I_ don‘t wanna go, Azza! I _can‘t!_ “ Robert gets up from the bed and starts pacing, “This whole ‘moving to London’ is ridiculous! What the hell am I supposed to do in London?“

“But… I‘m sure you fit in there quickly,“ Aaron says, eyes still downcast. “Think about all the cool stuff you can do then, all the clubs and bars and restaurants with that freaky food you love. And isn‘t that museum you talked about for _days_ in London too?“

“But _you_ aren‘t! You idiot!“ Robert shouts exasperated and throws his hands in the air. “You‘re not there.“

What?

Is this some sort of prank? But Robert wouldn‘t be that cruel. He wouldn‘t be. He can‘t be. Aaron feels tears burning in his eyes. 

“I can‘t leave you behind, Azza. And as tempting as it sounds to be finally moving out and getting away - you’d be still here and I don‘t wanna move into a city where you don‘t live. I don‘t wanna go into a random bar or a club or a restaurant without you. I don‘t wanna go into a museum for the first time without you. Because when you‘re not there, it means nothing!“

Robert‘s chest is heaving.

Aaron stares at him, unable to say anything. His heart is beating like a jackhammer in his throat and he feels like passing out any second. It all seems so unreal. Is this happening?

“I was too scared to tell you that-” Robert takes a deep breath, “I‘m bisexual.”

Robert is bi. He‘s into guys. Aaron tries to process this information, but his mind is fucking blank. 

“Say something,“ Robert whispers and runs his hands through his hair. 

His beautiful green eyes are wide open and his cheeks are pink, his breathing is still much faster than normal. Robert looks terrified and Aaron notices almost too late that his best friend is one step away from a panic attack.

Because Robert thinks Aaron is like _Adam_ in this scenario.

It would be hilarious, if it wasn‘t so serious. 

“I think I‘m in love with you,“ he practically vomits the words out. 

There is a second of nothing, horrible nothing, where Aaron wonders if he read all this wrong, if he just made the biggest mistake ever, if he just ruined the only good thing in his life.

“Azza…“ Robert breathes out and then he is back on the bed next to him and while Aaron‘s brain still tries to catch up with what is happening, Robert grabs his face and kisses him.

The mouth is half hitting his chin and Robert‘s hands are a bit clammy, but it doesn‘t matter. Nothing matters. Because this is Robert kissing him! And God, his lips are so lush and soft, softer than Aaron ever imagined in his countless fantasies. 

Robert moves, but Aaron is not ready for this to end, he clutches his shirt, pulls him back close. It’s perfect now, Robert‘s bottom lip rests between his and Robert softly sucks his upper lip in. 

There is a tingling that starts in his face, where Robert‘s hot breath hits his skin, that spreads all across his body and he gets goosebumps everywhere. 

It‘s his first ever kiss, he‘s 18 and he doesn‘t care that he‘s a late bloomer or however these cheesy websites would call it, because waiting for this was right. 

Waiting for the kiss that means something. 

Waiting for the kiss that means everything.

When they finally break apart, Aaron blinks his eyes open, dazed. Robert is still so close, he can count the freckles. There are so many. He wants to kiss them all.

“Why haven‘t you said something sooner?“ Robert asks with the softest voice ever and his green eyes look at him with so much affection that Aaron has to resist the urge to look behind him, if there is another person that should be receiving this look. “I mean, I was so damn obvious!“ he chuckles.

“You were?“ he asks dumbly.

“Azza, I had a crush on you before you even spoke to me the first time,“ Robert admits and blushes. 

Aaron just stares. Blinks. “But... Katie?“

“I liked her,“ Robert sighs, “and I liked that my dad liked that I liked her. But it didn‘t feel right.“

“I had no idea, honestly,“ Aaron says, reality slowly seeping into his mind. Robert really loved him back! “Not until you did that ‘I can’t live without you’ Romeo-style-Shakespeare-shit.“

Robert snorts and Aaron laughs with him. 

“You make such a pretty Juliet,“ his best friend - no, scratch that - his _boyfriend_ jokes.

“You mean prettier than Claire Danes?” Aaron grins, “I remember you thought she was hot.“

“I only said that because I still tried to pretend to be straight back then. Leo was way hotter.“ Robert shrugs, smirking. 

“Fuck, he was so hot.“

They are laughing again and Robert leans over to kiss him again. It‘s just a quick peck, a romantic little gesture and Aaron reckons that Robert is into that stuff a lot. It’s heartwarming and it makes Aaron‘s belly prickle. 

Apparently he‘s into that stuff a lot, too. 

“I always thought you liked girls,“ Robert says, his voice full of wonder. 

Aaron feels the huge smile he has on his cheeks. He takes Robert‘s hands, intertwines their fingers and squeezes gently.

“Well, it’s a hobby of mine to prove you wrong.“

  
  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Hope it was okay 🙏🏻


End file.
